The Immortal Emperor Returns C334 – Morbid Taste

Wisps of dark smog wafted lazily around in the air.

Chu Xun's eyes glowed purple as he followed the trails of black fumes.

“Hey, where you're off to?” Yan Wushuang exclaimed.

“Shhh!” hushed Tang Rou with a finger to her lips, “Don't bother him. Big Brother is finding the tracks left by the Zombies.”

Yue Fandie and everyone else silently followed Chu Xun.

After almost a half-hour, they heard the rapid bubbling of water.

Chu Xun's pursuit of the dark, foul fumes had led them all to the banks of the Yellow River.

“Huh, so this is the result of your tracking?” Yan Wushuang couldn't resist teasing Chu Xun, “Does this mean that they're hiding in the water?”

But Chu Xun merely chuckled. “That might not be the case.”

He peered at the quick rushing waves of the river.

Without warning, Chu Xun suddenly fired a blast of purplish energy beam.

Bang!

A plume of water several dozen meters high erupted where the blast struck, parting the waters for a fleeting moment that everyone could almost see the riverbed at the bottom.

Still grappling with the reason behind Chu Xun's sudden action, everyone gasped suddenly when another bang came and a black figure shot out of the water, lunging at them.

Yue Fandie raised a hand and fired a huge burst of Internal Breath.

Bang!

The beam hit the black figure who retreated back into the waters.

“Gods,” gasped an astounded Yan Wushuang, murmuring, “They're really in the water...”

“Idiot,” hissed Jiu You with disdain.

Yan Wushuang became speechless again, hardly believing the degree of loathing that this little girl seemed to harbor towards him.

“WHO ARE YOU?! HOW DARE YOU DISTURB MY REST?!” boomed the monster hoarsely, hovering over the surface of the water.

“Foul creature mistaking himself for some divine being, eh?”

Chu Xun was already in the air right before he finished. Two columns of water shot up as if answering his call and Chu Xun stepped on them to propel himself at the Zombie.

Yue Fandie and everyone else stared with dropped jaws.

“Wow...” Yue Hongbo murmured, verbally expressing everyone's amazement, “That's an extraordinarily masterful use of Internal Breath by Uncle...”

“Humph,” Yan Wushuang scoffed, “That's a walk in the park that even I can do.”

Bang!

Jiu You planted her little girl's foot into Yan Wushuang's backside.

Splash!

With a huge splash, Yan Wushuang fell face-first into the water.

Yan Wushuang never expected that Jiu You would suddenly attack him and in his shock, he inadvertently gulped down two huge mouthfuls of the murky water.

Bang!

More water splattered everywhere and Yan Wushuang blasted himself out of the water. But he was already as sodden as a dirty dishrag.

The Yellow River was so muddy that when Yan Wushuang came up, he was covered in so much silt and dirt that some were trickling from inside his ears.

Yue Fandie and the others stared blankly, not knowing how they should react; no one knew that Jiu You would suddenly kick Yan Wushuang into the water.

“That's too much, Jiu You,” Tang Rou reprimanded with feigned sternness, quietly slipping to Jiu You's front to shield her.

But Jiu You hardly felt remorseful. Retorting, she yelled, “He said he could manipulate the river water into columns too. But who would have known that he was only bragging?”

“You insolent brat! Come here!” bellowed Yan Wushuang, now running mad at his utterly sullied state which was especially unbearable to him given his extreme fixation for cleanliness.

“Stay your anger please, Master Yan. I'm sure Jiu You understands how wrong she's been,” assuaged Tang Rou.

Before an indignant Yan Wushuang could object, something crashed with a loud bang to his side, startling him.

Everyone looked and to their surprise, it was the monster. Chu Xun's fight had ended before they knew it and he had tossed the monster up the bank after breaking its limbs.

Chu Xun leaped back to them with a vault off another water column. He looked at Yan Wushuang's pathetic state and remarked, “Goddamn, talk about having morbid tastes. There are feces, remains of humans and even animals, marine creatures, and all that in those waters. Not to mention this filthy thing—” he referred to the monster, “—was just inside there just now. Can't say I'd find that drink tasty.”

That left Yan Wushuang so enraged that he was almost literally fuming. Panting, he growled, “Enough of that condescending talk! Are you blind?! Did you not see that I was kicked into the river by that little devil of a child?!”

“Ah?” A surprised expression broke upon Chu Xun's face, “Really? I'm afraid I did not notice just now.”

“...” Yan Wushuang had to restrain himself from succumbing to the impulse of giving Chu Xun a punch to the face.

“Look, there's a fish bone caught between your teeth, Bratty Yan,” pointed out Chu Xun kindly.

“URRRGGHH!” That turned out to be the last straw; Yan Wushuang turned unbelievably pale suddenly and he bent down on all fours and began vomiting with disgust.

That made everyone feel sick and nauseous that they felt their stomachs churning uneasily too.

Yue Fandie glared at the monster, now in a badly-walloped heap on the ground, saying, “Wait, Master Yan mentioned two. Look again, Brother, there could be another in the water.”

Chu Xun shook his head. He had found this monster because he saw a dark, ink-like fog in the water where it was hiding earlier. But there was no other black fog elsewhere in the water.

“SPEAK! Where is the other of your kind?” interrogated Yue Fandie.

The monster fixed Yue Fandie in a bloodshot stare. Raspily, he breathed, “One of my kind died last night. That was you, is it?”

Boom!

Chu Xun spun and fired another energy bolt without a word and blasted the monster's head to smithereens before sending a spurt of purplish flames to reduce what remains of it into ashes.

“Shouldn't we interrogate it for more information about the whereabouts of its kind, Brother?” asked Yue Fandie.

“It's no use, Father. Uncle used whatever methods he could last night, but that monster last night just refused to budge. They are very, very stubborn,” explained Yue Hongbo.

Understanding now, Yue Fandie breathed wearily, “Well, that's one thing they're better than us humans.”

Chu Xun looked around, hoping to find more strands of black fume, but they found none.

“Let's go back then. I just hope we can find the rest of these monsters as soon as possible,” said Chu Xun.

On the other hand, Yan Wushuang never stopped throwing up that he nearly belched even his insides.

On their way back, everyone gave Yan Wushuang a wide berth, eager to put as much distance between him and the rest of them.

Yan Wushuang was fuming that he practically puffing. With his eyes red with rage, the one thing he wanted the most right at that moment was to perforate Chu Xun with his sword.

Back at the Sanctuary, Yan Wushuang dove straight for the bathroom and did not come out even after three hours.

“You mustn't do that again, Jiu You,” said Chu Xun sternly at her.

The little mischievous demon pouted, bobbing her head to indicate she is sorry.

“How about you brew your pills first, Brother? After all, there's nothing else we can do until the monsters show themselves.”

Chu Xun gave the suggestion a thought and finally nodded.

With enough supplies of herbs and medicinal shrubs this time, Chu Xun wished to brew Divine Purple Pills by following the instructions he had read from the Hong Meng Scripture.

Divine Purple Pills are more potent than usual Level-improving Pills.

The Tetrarchy Cauldron kept inside the Hall of Tetrarchy is instrumental in keeping the race of the Subterranean Devils sealed underground. Hence, before beginning his work, Chu Xun first examined the Cauldron before he began.

Flames crackled furiously beneath the Cauldron and the hallowed instrument burst with a blinding shimmer with silhouettes of the four ancient mythical beasts appearing like holograms, filling the eaves of the spacious chamber.

Chu Xun shoved more than a hundred magical herbs and shrubs into the Cauldron and began operating it as instructed by the Hong Meng Scripture.

Puff!

Black fumes shot up high without warning, all the hundreds of magical herbs and shrubs were utterly waste; reduced into charred ash and silt.

Chu Xun broke a gloomy smile. His first attempt had failed miserably.

The hundreds of magical shrubs and herbs did not come without effort and time, and the loss of all that resources would be a pinch that he could never easily forgive himself for.

The brewing of Divine Purple Pills demands a very flawless control of Hong Meng Immortal Qi in addition to impeccable mastery of one's Divine Senses, with zero margin for error.

Chu Xun calmed himself, readying himself for a second attempt.

Although it did not take long for another puff and more black fumes that heralded yet another failure.

By then, Chu Xun could feel his insides groaning at the loss of all his rare and valuable reserves.

The two failures had claimed almost a thousand of his Middle-grade magical herbs. Even if he still had substantial reserves, this was nevertheless a loss that could easily cripple him.

This time, Chu Xun refrained from using any more Middle-grade resources and opted for Low-grade herbs and shrubs instead.

Puff!

More black plumes rose ominously into the air.

It was all Chu Xun could do to rein in his temper before he began spewing expletives and curses. “What in the world is wrong here?!”

He sat down and began thinking. Where did the problem occur? But every step and every procedure that he followed, he had made utmost surety that they were done in strictest accordance with every word in the Hong Meng Scripture.

Seconds passed as he delved through his mind, and still he failed to locate the source of his error.

Unwilling to give up, Chu Xun decided to try another attempt.

Puff!

Yet more black smoke fluffed upwards.

One could argue that Chu Xun's face was darker than even the black smoke itself.

Stubbornly refusing to surrender, he needed another chance.

This time, Chu Xun mustered every iota of concentration and handled the use of his Hong Meng Immortal Qi with painstaking caution.

Hundreds of magical shrubs and herbs glided gently into the Cauldron, and this time, a satisfied smile spread upon Chu Xun's face as he saw his first glimmer of success. In his previous attempts, the ingredients all immediately incinerated into ashes as soon as they entered the Cauldron.

Chu Xun proceeded carefully.

The ingredients floated inside the Cauldron, spinning as if in a slow, gentle vortex of air, gradually turning golden and crispy before they ultimately turned into ashes.

The ashes dissipated away, leaving hundreds of golden droplets – each of them the various essences extracted from the ingredients.

Beads of perspiration wet his brows, but he maintained his absolute focus on his work, slowly accumulating the essences together.

Three to four hours passed without notice.

Outside, Yue Fandie and everyone else waited anxiously.

Chu Xun had been inside the chamber for more than ten hours, and still, there was still no sight of him.

He had been at it for almost an entire night.

The next morning came, and still Chu Xun remained elusive.

“Surely he's still fine, I hope?” muttered Yan Wushuang.

“Just shuddup, you foul-mouthed idiot,” scowled Jiu You.

Suddenly, at noon, blinding rays of purplish lights poured from inside the Hall of Tetrarchy and culminated into a huge deluge of purplish auroras dancing all over the Sanctuary.

“Gods in Heaven, has Chu Xun achieved immortality?!” gasped Yan Wushuang.

The entire Sanctuary was caught in the middle of the bright spectacles of purplish lights.

From inside the Hall, Chu Xun's triumphant laughter came loudly and the spectacle of purple lights began simmering down before everything was gone.

Chu Xun emerged finally from the Hall.

Everyone stared at him. He looked as haggard as a beggar by the streets with his hair frayed and entangled and his face covered with soot. Even his suit of glazed-white suit was as dirty as a soiled blanket.

He needed only a broken bowl and a decrepit wooden stick, and no one would ever doubt him to be a street bum and people might begin tossing him a coin or two.

Yan Wushuang broke into laughter, thrilled to see Chu Xun in a similar state he was before.

“Damn, you look terrible,” hissed Jiu You with disapproval, holding her nose shut.

Yue Fandie, equally dumbfounded himself, mumbled, “What were you doing inside, Brother? Raising a fire and cooking?!”

“Gods, Big Brother. You need a bath,” even Tang Rou could not stand the musky stench coming off Chu Xun.

Chu Xun raised an arm and sniffed his armpits, only to nearly faint at his own odor. For one day and one night, he had been so fixated in his work that his sweat came out and dried without him knowing, and his clothes, now dried with sweat, could have stood on its own if left standing.

Whoosh!

He dove for the bathroom at once.

He came back not long later, having put on a fresh set of clothes.

Yue Fandie had already ordered his servants for food.

Famished, Chu Xun wolfed down everything hungrily.

After the meal, Yue Fandie could hold back his swelling curiosity no longer, “So... Were you successful, Brother?”

“Five times,” grinned Chu Xun, “After five times, I've finally done it.”

He produced a little pill – a Divine Purple Pill.

Almost the size of a thumb, the little pill gave off a soft purplish shimmer of luster and its pungent but tantalizing aroma made everyone salivate.

With blinding speed, Jiu You threw herself forward and wrapped her hands around Chu Xun's, and she gaped her jaw for the pill in his hands.

It came so suddenly that Chu Xun was taken off-guard.

Crunch!

Tears almost burst out when the hard crust of the pill struck her teeth, then it rolled down her throat before she even noticed and she bit hard, nearly crushing her own teeth.

But sooner than she could howl with pain, a huge and overwhelming aura burst forth from inside her.

Boom!

The air rolled violently, thrashing like tidal waves and hammered at every piece of furniture and object – tables, chairs, tableware – and reduced them into bits and flakes.

Surprised, Chu Xun barked frantically, “Control yourself. Calm your mind and assimilate the effects of the pill slowly.”

Jiu You's face flushed with a bright shade of red as she struggled to control the power of the pill. At Chu Xun's behest, she quickly sat down.

But at first attempt to channel her powers, a mouthful of blood burst out of her mouth instead.

“It's too strong, I can't assimilate its powers,” whimpered Jiu You painfully in her puerile voice.

Chu Xun channeled his powers and directed a burst of Hong Meng Immortal Qi into her. But he gasped with shock all of a sudden.

Chapter end